Saturday, January 25th, 2020

Good morning all,

Another quiet day on top, no sounds have been uttered so far. Steam begins to fill the air, tea is on the agenda. Right now, it is 16 degrees and calm with light snow flurries. It looks like we ended up getting another .25" of snow overnight, and there's still about 3.0" on the ground. I was disappointed that the rain was so prominent yesterday. If it had been just a little bit colder, we could've seen a lot more white stuff. With the small amount of snow we received last night and the declining temperatures, all the slush and melted ice around the mountain seems to have refrozen. If you plan on climbing Mount LeConte this morning/afternoon, Highway 441 closed around midnight last night, so Alum Cave and the Boulevard are currently inaccessible. Looking ahead at the forecast, clear skies should sweep in fairly soon, so that road shouldn't be remain closed all day. Be on the lookout for slabs of ice, downed trees and fancy icicles. Before setting out on the trail, make sure your all your valuables are with you, not in the car! The fact that someone would break into a car at a trail head sickens me, but it has happened before. Have a great day on the trail! Stay warm and stay motivated...

Yesterday's high was a mere 33 degrees, with a low of 16. Temperatures hovered from 32-33 most of the day, resulting in 0.8" of rain. Heavy snow overnight left 3.0" on the ground, slowly turning the precious powder into slush. With no more snow in the forecast until Sunday night, waking up to flurries and another .25" of snow was a treat! The forecast shows clear skies through the rest of the day today, with clouds burning off in the early afternoon/late morning. Temperatures could stay below freezing all day, so you might want to pack some extra layers for the top. 

A rather uneventful day of rest yesterday, up until around 5:00 pm. Rain and clouds combined and took over the whole day, making any outdoor excursion a wet one indeed. Sunset was around the corner, and I was loosing hope. All of the sudden, the dormant sun broke through the clouds. Small pockets of blue sky appeared, with sneak peaks of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville below. I took the hint, layering up quickly and precisely. I scrambled up the slope to Cliff Tops, dodging ice sheets and rushing water along the way. A true blessing awaited me at the top! The clouds parted ways in the perfect spot, giving me a great view of another burning cloud sea! I never saw the sun actually set, but this was just fine...

-Kemp

"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get..."

​-Mark Twain